The camellia is a beautiful and graceful ornamental plant. Everything you need to know about proper planting and care can be found here.
The camellia (Camellia) belongs to the tea plant family (Theaceae) and is popular with many gardeners because it is particularly characterized by the beauty of its lush and colorful flowers captivates. In gardening circles, however, the opinion often prevails that the camellia is difficult to keep. We will explain this and tell you how to help the camellia to its fullest beauty.
Camellia: origin and meaning
According to tradition, the camellia was cultivated more than 4000 years ago in what is now China. At that time, the 'Chinese camellia' (Camellia sinensis) was mainly cultivated in order to obtain green tea or the subsequently fermented black tea from its leaves. The camellia came to Europe at the beginning of the 16th century and became an extremely popular garden plant from the 18th century. However, the actual reason for importing the plants was initially different. The Europeans wanted to make their own tea. However, knowing of the great economic importance that camellias had for the Chinese, they often declared ornamental camellias as tea plants in order to protect their monopoly on the tea market at the time.
The camellia rose to worldwide fame in 1848 when Alexandre Dumas published his novel The Lady of the Camellias. She was knighted in 1853 when the story of the French writer was set to music by Guiseppe Verdi in the opera "La Traviata". After a brief boom, the camellia fell silent for a long time, not least due to the decline of the nobility, with whom the plant was particularly popular. Since the 1940s, however, the camellia has enjoyed increased attention again. Today there are over 20,000 species, with flowering and hardiness being the key criteria when choosing the perfect strain for your garden.
Camellia flowering time: when is itCamellia flowering time?
The flowering time of camellias depends on where they are placed and how they are kept. Outdoors, most species flower between March and April. Potted plants show a somewhat broader temporal spectrum. Depending on the time of planting and the type or variety, the flowering time can vary between December and February.
Camellia japonica and other camellia species
According to expert opinion, the camellia is represented by over 250 species worldwide. We introduce you to some of the most popular types and describe the peculiarities of the Asian beauties.
Camellia japonica (Japanese camellia)
- Best-known and most widespread camellia wild species; particularly many cultivars of this type available; unfortunately no hardy varieties; Flower color varies from pink to yellow to brilliant white.
Camellia sasanqua (scented camellia)
- Also many varieties available; autumn flowering camellia (from October); Flowers exude a light fragrance and tolerate a lot of sun; not hardy.
Camellia sinensis (Chinese camellia)
- Originally grown for green and black tea; still have high ornamental value; one of the oldest cultivated species with countless varieties.
In addition to the conventional varieties, there is now a wide range of Camelliahybrids. The new hybrids offer innovative colors and shapes in many respects and are sometimes even a bit more robust when it comes to lower temperatures.
You can find more about the diversity of the camellia world here in our detailed variety article with over 80 great varieties.
Buy camellias
Whether a plant thrives or not does not always depend on your performance as a hobby gardener. If a weakened or already diseased plant is bought, sometimes even the most intensive care can no longer help. Therefore, you should pay attention to the following when buying:
- Rich green foliage and he althy buds
- He althy and strong root system
- No signs of pests or diseases
- Sales location offers good location conditions
- Plants were cared for species-appropriately during rearing
We have compiled a list of particularly recommended sources for camellias for you here.
Planting camellias: location and substrate
Despite their poor winter hardiness, camellias are not houseplants - at least not all year round. We explain how you can create particularly good conditions for your Camellia.
Camellia Location
Camellias do best in a container in a cool conservatory (between 13 and 16°C during flowering). If you want to plant your camellia outdoors, you should choose a wind-protected location and be aware that too much sunlight on the frozen leaves in winter can damage or even kill the plant. The camellia prefers semi-shady locations. However, it is worthwhile exposing a camellia planted in a tub to more sun in the summer to promote bud formation.
Tip: Experts recommend spring planting of camellias. This means that you may miss flowering in the first growing season, but the plant can establish itself well and will shine all the more colorfully the next year.
Potted camellias: the right substrate
The camellia makes similar demands on the plant substrate as the rhododendron. A well-drained substrate that is slightly acidic works best here. It is preferable to use humus-rich potting soil with an increased peat content in order to meet the camellia's bog bed requirements.
Caring for camellias: Water and fertilize properly
The camellia makes relatively few demands on its owner when all the basic conditions are right. She enjoys regular watering. However, you should avoid waterlogging as far as possible, otherwise root rot and mold can quickly occur. It is also necessary to fertilize your camellia regularly throughout late spring and late summer. So that you are not only doing your camellias a favor, but also mother earth in general, you should choose a primarily organic organic fertilizer such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer. This will be given to your loved ones as a deposit. In this way, the risk of over-fertilization is minimized and a long-term supplypromoted. You also support he althy soil life, which is particularly important in pots with limited space, and you also save valuable resources.
In addition to regular watering and fertilizing, high humidity also plays an important role so that your camellia can feel completely at ease. You can learn more about fertilizing camellias in our special article.
Tip: Make sure that the irrigation water is not too "hard", i.e. not too calcareous, so that the acidic conditions in the plant substrate are not influenced too strongly. Rainwater is particularly suitable because it contains little or no minerals.
You can find more helpful information on caring for your camellia here in our special article.
Repot camellias
The unusual life cycle of camellias is just one reason they exhibit exceptionally vigorous root growth. You should therefore repot regularly so that your camellia can develop its magnificent bloom every year.
When to repot camellias?
The perfect time for repotting cannot be fixed in general. A key indicator that will tell you it's time for a bigger tub is roots emerging to the surface. This is a sign that the emerging roots have to give way to others in order to continue to get nutrients. Even regular fertilization and sufficient watering cannot counteract this.
How to cut camellias
Camellias usually need little pruning. Normally it is sufficient to remove the somewhat poorly developed wild shoots. Larger cuts are only recommended for older plants. However, you should make sure to spread the cut over several years so as not to deprive the plant of large amounts of biomass all at once. In general, only cut off small parts of the shoots, as it may take a long time for them to sprout again. The best time for a camellia pruning is May to July.
You can find precise instructions for the ideal pruning of your camellia here.
Successfully wintering camellias
In order to be able to enjoy your camellia for many years, you should provide it with suitable winter quarters. We will show you what is necessary for a successful hibernation.
Are camellias hardy?
In general, camellias are not hardy. There are reports ofisolated successes where camellias have endured temperatures as low as -15°C without losing their ability to flower. However, this is the absolute exception. However, you can influence camellia hardiness a little by trying to create optimal outdoor conditions.
The location should be sheltered from the wind and not be subject to major temperature fluctuations in winter. A place in the semi-shade is therefore ideal. In addition, an insulating layer of bark mulch, brushwood, leaves or similar material should protect the sensitive root system. Breeders are currently very keen to develop hardy varieties so that soon we can enjoy camellias outdoors all year round.
Overwintering camellias properly in pots
The camellia needs a resting phase of about eight weeks in winter if it is kept as a container plant. The temperature should be between 5 and 15 °C and the humidity around 60%. However, the temperature should never rise above 15 °C, otherwise the camellia may also begin to shed its buds when the air is dry.
Tip: Keep your camellia outside as long as possible to minimize the period of extreme condition change.
You can find more about overwintering camellias and hardy varieties here.
Camellia Diseases
Unfortunately, your beloved camellias can also be attacked by a wide variety of pests and pathogens. These include animal pathogens such as scale insects or the vine weevil, but also fungal pathogens.
You can find everything about camellia diseases that can affect your plant and how to combat them successfully here.